1. Field of the Invention
This invention relates to headwear and, more particularly, to a headwear item having a projecting rim/bill.
2. Background Art
Myriad headwear designs are currently offered with a forwardly projecting rim/bill. This rim/bill configuration is common to visors and baseball-style caps.
Baseball-style caps have become increasingly popular and stylish in many circles. Baseball-style caps are desired for their comfort as well as the function they perform in shielding a wearer's face from sun and the elements.
These caps are adorned in many different ways. The most common adornment is that associated with athletic teams at all professional and amateur levels. These caps are also commonly used to promote activities, events, institutions, products, etc. As a result, those businesses offering this type of headwear must generally display a wide range of products, differing in terms of type, quality and ornamentation.
With so many competitors in the headwear industry, it is important that displays be devised to highlight particularly the ornamentation on these caps. Further, these displays are preferably set up so that users can conveniently try on the headwear for purposes of look and feel.
Ideally, baseball-style caps are displayed in the same general starting state with the rim/bill slightly bowed into an inverted “U” shape. However, users often have different preferences, particularly in terms of the shape of the rim/bill. Typically, the rims/bills are made from a material that can be shaped, normally by forcibly bending the rim/bill material. One popular shape is a more squared, inverted “U” shape achieved by producing spaced bend lines extending in a fore-and-aft direction. Prospective purchasers often will shape the rim/bill to their liking at the point of purchase and check the appearance thereof by wearing the headwear.
The assignee herein currently offers a baseball-style cap with a highly formable rim/bill. One form of this headwear piece is shown in U.S. Pat. No. 6,076,192.
As noted above, it is undesirable that a point of purchase display have headwear pieces with rims/bills that are bent into different configurations. While the rims/bills are made to exhibit good shape memory, there is generally a residual deformation after the rim/bill is re-shaped. To avoid this problem, it is known to provide systems with shaping components for the rim/bill. These shaping systems come in many different forms and generally are designed to produce a fairly consistent, downwardly opening, arcuate shape for the rim/bill.
Generally, the shaping systems are designed either to be recovered by the purveyor of the headwear or remain with the headwear after sale. While the shaping systems are effective in maintaining rims/bills consistently in a desired starting shape, each type has some inherent drawbacks.
If the shaping system is designed to be recovered, the establishment that sells the headwear piece must devise a system to remove and handle the same for re-use. If the shaping systems are retained by the headwear purchasers, it is normally intended that the shaping systems will be discarded. Consequently, the shaping system becomes a single use item. As a result, the shaping systems are designed to be cheaply manufactured and, as a result, may not perform as effectively as desired. Additionally, there is an inherent inconvenience having components that must be disposed of in an appropriate manner by the ultimate consumer.